A Dose of Culture With Your Wednesday Night Workout : Yoga in the Art Museum

This is why I love our city so much. A yoga class, taught inside one of the most beautiful, world-class art museums in the country, by a fabulous teacher from Dhyana Yoga?! Pretty incredible! So since by most accounts the apocalypse is coming tomorrow in the form of yet another snow/ice storm, I figured there was no time like the present to check it out. 

What to Know. While its pathetic to admit, I can't say I'm exactly a pro when it comes to navigating the cultural landmarks of our city ... and by "not a pro" I mean, pretty much all I know about the Art Museum is that the steps out front are a great part of my exercise routine, the bootcamps that meet out there at 6am and on summer nights look intriguing, and its a gorgeous piece of the Philadelphia historical landscape. Where to find the Grand Hall Stairway Balcony? Absolutely no clue. And walking in with my Lulus, winter boots, and yoga mat in tow, I must say I felt a bit like a fish out of water. That only lasted a minute though as I was quickly greeted by a Museum volunteer who directed me to exactly where I needed to go, and told me what I needed to do: First, buy a General Admissions Ticket, which on Wednesday nights are "Pay What You Want".  Then walk up one flight of stairs, turn left and you can't miss it... Spread all across the "balcony" was a sea of yoga mats and a friendly teacher, Emily, from Dhyana Yoga greeting everyone as they came in. Important to note ** Get there a little early to get a good spot! I was a bit late and ended up on the end which happened to be right in front of the elevator. Definitely surprised a few unsuspecting Museum-goers when the doors opened and there I was in full Down Dog! HELLO! 

Bottom Line. This class is all about the experience. If you're a hard core yogi looking for a challenging practice and a cleansing sweat, you should probably get it in before heading to the Museum. If you are someone looking for a different kind of week night activity / a fun way to get some culture in with your workout, this is perfect. Make it social and plan a fun dinner somewhere nearby.... You probably won't need to shower before because there isn't too much sweating going on! I'm sure the fact that it is 10 degrees outside wasn't helping.. but the room was a bit chilly. Even though it is classified as a Vinyasa Flow class, this is definitely on the more "restorative" side as opposed to a "power flow". However, the teachers do change weekly so other teachers may have a different style than Emily. Either way, coming from a girl who likes her sweaty power flow, this experience was enough to outweigh the lacking "sweat factor". So as long as you know what to expect (aka if you need a hardcore workout, do it in the morning and then come to the Art Museum at night), it is definitely worth it!